New Batch of Recalls Puts GM Into Record Numbers

Another day, another GM recall. Or more precisely, four recalls. The automaker today announced problems with 2.4 million vehicles that require fixes, reports CNN. The figure brings the number of GM cars recalled this year to a record 13.6 million, reports AP. Today's include 1.4 million Buick Enclaves, Chevrolet Traverses, and GMC Acadias from 2009-14, along with Saturn Outlooks from 2009-10, because the front seat belt might separate from the vehicle in a crash. It also includes about 1 million Chevy Malibus from 2004-08 and Pontiac G6s from 2005-08 because of a shift cable that wears out prematurely, reports CNBC.

In the backdrop of GM's ignition-switch mess, however, all these recalls aren't necessarily a bad thing for the company or the industry as a whole, reports MLive. As an analyst for Kelley Blue Book puts it, "What these recalls genuinely or accurately represent is a hard, self-critical analysis on what to do and how they need to fix problems." An exec for KIA says the scrutiny of GM—and Toyota before it—is forcing every company to reassess how it deals with safety procedures. (Another reason why we should expect more recalls? Cars keep getting more complicated.)